


Honesty is Best

by CantEscapeMyFandoms



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canon Het Relationship, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-26
Updated: 2015-01-26
Packaged: 2018-03-09 03:57:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3235412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CantEscapeMyFandoms/pseuds/CantEscapeMyFandoms
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Killian tells Emma the truth about him and Rumplestiltskin blackmailing each other. It's Emma's time to defend Killian and stand by him. (3 chapters completed).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Truth

**Author's Note:**

> Written months ago during 4a.

Killian pulled Emma away from David and Elsa, leading her into her office.

Emma arched a brow, smiling despite her confusion, as Killian shut the door.

“You know, we can always have alone time on our next date.” Emma smirked.

“Swan, there’s something I have to tell you.” Killian sighed, avoiding her gaze.

Emma’s face fell, brow furrowing in concern. “Is this about your hand? About whatever deal you made with Gold?”

“Always so perceptive.” Killian tried to smile, but couldn’t.

“Well, you and I both know that Gold isn’t one to give handouts.”

Killian nodded. He swallowed thickly, still unable to look at her. “I wanted everything to be perfect for our date. Myself included. I was a fool, Emma.”

Her breath caught at her name, a sense of foreboding coming over her.

“He told me that the price would be that the hand would make me the pirate I once was.” Killian continued. “On our date, I thought it was my hand that grabbed Scarlet, and later...I found him breaking into the library and punched him. Threatened him if he told anyone. I went to the Dark One to remove my hand, but he refused, and I got angry and stabbed him. I was afraid of what I was becoming. Afterwards, he roped me into helping him commit...I honestly don't know if it was murder.”

“Wait, hold on, Gold killed someone?” Emma interrupted.

“I don’t know.” Killian said. “He...I think he trapped the man inside of a hat. I don’t know if the man is all right.”

“And you helped him?” Emma felt a sense of betrayal. She finally found a man that she could trust, a man that she thought changed...

“I thought I was cursed.” Killian’s words interrupted her thoughts. “I only wanted to get rid of my hand. I didn’t want to keep it if it would bring harm to you, or Henry, or your parents and their lad.” His eyes watered, knowing that he was losing her the more he talked. “Rumplestiltskin removed my hand, and told me that it wasn’t cursed. That it was all me. He also has a video tape of me committing the crime, not him. He owns me, Emma.”

Emma turned away from him, silently fuming at both Killian and Gold. “How did this happen anyway? How did you get Gold to make a deal with you in the first place?”

“I figured out that Belle has a fake dagger.” Killian said. “I threatened to tell her. Now, I’ve dug my own grave. He has evidence and you against me...”

“Me?” Emma turned back to him. “What does that mean?”

“The tape wasn’t all he used to ensure my services.”

“He threatened me.” Emma stated, some of her anger at Killian diminishing. “Killian, why are you telling me all of this?”

Finally, he looked up at her and met her eyes.

Her heart broke a little at seeing so much pain and sadness and defeat in his eyes.

“I learned from Zelena, that secrets can come out in the worst ways.” Killian said. “I knew that if I didn’t say anything now, that it would be worse in the long run. I had to tell you, even if it meant losing you.”

“Losing me?”

Killian’s gaze dropped. “I haven’t changed Emma. The hand wasn’t cursed, and I acted like the pirate I used to be. You deserve better.”

“Killian, you have changed.” Emma stepped towards him.

He stepped back. “No, love, I haven’t. I’m the same worthless pirate that I always was.” He moved around her, towards the other door of her office, leaving quickly.

Emma watched him leave, her heart in her throat.

David opened the other door, concern in his features. “Is everything all right?”

“No.” Emma sighed. “It’s not.”


	2. The Tape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry finds incriminating evidence against Killian.

Emma was damn near burnt out. It had been an eventful week chasing after the Snow Queen, or Sarah Fisher. 

After reluctantly working with Regina to track her down, they ended up having to save Elsa from the ice bitch herself. Emma’s magic didn’t work properly, so it fell to Regina to chase her off.

Elsa was, thankfully, okay, but Emma’s confidence in her magic was once again shaken.

I don’t know what your deal is, Regina had said. But find your pirate and fix it. 

Emma wondered what the hell that was supposed to mean, but Regina had stormed off before she could ask.

As it was, Killian had been avoiding her. 

He was never at Granny’s, when she went looking for him (quite a feat considering that he was still staying there), because they had to talk about this. Yeah, she’d been angry and felt a bit betrayed, but Killian had made the deal for her, because he was insecure.

Guilt twisted her stomach. 

She had been so focused on pushing him away and protecting her heart, worried about her own fears that she never thought about his.

As she organized her paperwork, she figured that it was time to go and confront Gold. She had to stop this before it got out of hand, and Killian became Gold’s patsy for something or another. 

Snow appeared in the station, Neal sleeping in his stroller, with a bag of lunch. 

“Hey, mom.” Emma greeted as she came out of the office. “This is a surprise.”

“Yeah, well, I finally hired an assistant, so I took sometime to bring you guys lunch.” Mary Margaret said.

“Who’s your assistant?” David asked as he set the food out on one of the desks. 

“Kathryn.” 

Both father and daughter looked at her surprised. 

“My cursed ex-wife?”

Mary Margaret nodded. “She applied and we talked. We agreed that everything that happened under the curse wasn’t really us. Besides, she’s happier than ever with Frederick.”

“That’s good.” David said. 

Henry rushed into the bullpen. 

“Hey kid, what are you doing here?” Emma asked. 

“Can I borrow your VCR?” He asked, holding out a VHS tape. 

“Um, sure.” Emma’s brow furrowed. “What is that anyway?” 

Henry walked over to the security television and popped the tape in. “Well, I was at the pawnshop, and Killian was there....”

“Killian?” Emma started. If Killian was there, that could only mean that Gold was enlisting Killian in another scheme.

“Yeah.” Henry nodded. “They didn’t say anything, but this tape was on the counter, and Grandpa and Killian were acting weird about it. Then they left, so I figured....”

“That you’d steal the tape and watch it?” David asked.

Henry shrugged as the tape begun to play.

“Certainly is his father’s son.” Emma muttered, earning curious glances from her parents, but Emma was focused on the tape. 

Killian had mentioned that Gold had a tape as evidence against Killian.

This could be the one. 

The tape played out, showing an old man, that none of the Charmings recognized, and Killian. They watched as Killian attacked the man. 

Mary Margaret gasped. 

“What is Killian doing?” Henry asked.

Emma quickly ejected the tape. “It’s not Killian.”

“Emma, we just saw him on that tape.” Mary Margaret said. 

“It seemed pretty clear what he was doing too.” David growled, furiously. “I can’t believe this. I thought he had really changed.”

“Emma, I know that he means a lot to you,” Mary Margaret began. “But he committed a crime.”

“Just, stop.” Emma practically yelled. “Can I please explain before you guys get the mob and pitchforks?”

Her parents went quiet.

Emma sighed, looking at David. “The day after our date, when Killian was here, do you remember when we went into my office?”

“Yeah.” David nodded.

“Killian told me that he found out Gold lied to Belle.” Emma began. “The dagger that she has is a fake, and Killian used that knowledge to blackmail Gold into giving him his hand back. Gold manipulated Killian into working for him and used his magic to change this tape to....well, turn the tables.”

“And Killian was telling the truth?” Mary Margaret asked. 

“I know he was.” Emma said. “He doesn’t lie to me. He learned that lesson quick back in the Enchanted Forest.” 

Mary Margaret’s lips twitched at the memory. “Well, you did threaten to feed him to the ogres.”

“What?” Henry and David exclaimed. 

“What, he lied.” Emma shrugged. “It got the truth out of him eventually.”

“So, if Grandpa is blackmailing Killian, what are we going to do about it?” Henry asked. 

“Not “we”, kid.” Emma told him. “I’m going to deal with this.” 

“Are you sure?” David asked. 

“Yeah.” Emma reassured. “This is between me, Killian, and Gold.” Emma walked out of the station.

No one messes with my pirate.


	3. The Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma confronts Rumplestiltskin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's the final chapter as promised.

Killian followed Gold into the back of the pawnshop. 

They had a venture in the woods, tracking the Snow Queen’s movements. 

The crocodile wanted to trap her in the hat, but it wasn’t time yet.

Killian was more concerned that Gold was going to use the hat on Emma and Elsa than the Snow Queen. The guardian of the hat, or whoever he was, said that Gold needed a lot of magic. Killian knew that no one was more powerful than Emma; she just hadn’t tapped into her potential yet.

Killian knew that Gold knew Emma’s potential. After all, true love was the most powerful magic of all.

It was only a matter of time before he went after Emma despite holding her over Killian’s head. 

“Is that all for today, crocodile?” Killian sighed. 

Gold smirked. “Not quite.”

The bell on the front door jingled, before the door practically slammed shut. 

Before Gold could respond to the disturbance, Emma appeared in the room.

“Miss Swan.” Gold’s voice was laced with false pleasure. 

Killian’s heart stuttered at the sight of her. True, he was avoiding her, but Gods did he miss her. 

“What can I do for you today?” Gold asked.

“Let Killian go.” Emma glared. 

Gold glanced at Killian, hatred in his eyes. “The Captain seems perfectly free to me.”

“He told me everything.” Emma said. 

None of them heard the bell jingle as Emma spoke.

“You gave Belle a fake dagger.” Emma continued. “You lied to her, and the rest of us. You took Killian’s hand back and you manipulated him into becoming your lapdog. All you do is lie to everyone and manipulate everything so that you reap the benefits. So what’s the deal this time?”

“The hat.” Killian nodded at the wizard’s hat on the table.

Gold glared at him murderously. 

“The hat absorbs magic users.” Killian explained. “The crocodile is trying to gather enough power to break the Dark One curse, but still keep his power.”

“You mean get rid of the dagger’s hold on him?” Emma asked. 

“I think that’s exactly what he means.” Belle said from the doorway, startling the others. 

She looked beyond hurt and betrayed, eyes shining with tears. “Rumple, is all of that true?” 

“Belle....” Gold started. 

Belle stepped back. “Is it true?” She pulled the dagger Gold gave her from her purse. “This is fake?”

Gold swallowed, lips thinning. 

“Emma, Killian.” Belle spoke to them, but her eyes remained on her husband. “Please, excuse us. My husband and I need to have a long talk.”

Neither said anything as Emma grabbed his hook and dragged him out of there. 

They didn’t speak until they were outside of Killian’s room at Granny’s. 

“If the crocodile keeps that hat, you and Elsa are in danger.” Killian said. 

“We’ll be careful.” Emma reassured him. “But I doubt he’ll do anything with it now that Belle knows.”

“Never underestimate him, love.” Killian finally made eye contact with her, blue eyes full of fear for her. 

“I know.” Emma breathed, leaning closer to him. “You don’t have to worry about me.”

“I’ll never stop worrying about you.” 

Emma smiled. How had she ever lived without this man in her life?

Their lips met halfway. 

She pulled him close, his arms instinctively going around her, much like they had the night of their date. 

The kiss stirred the ever present fire in both of them.

Killian pulled away first, forehead against hers. “Swan.”

Emma waved her hand, magically opening the door. “Get inside pirate.”

“So, you pillage and plunder on the second date?” Killian chuckled. 

Emma smiled coyly, pushing him back into the room. “You’ve no idea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it. Hope you guys liked it.

**Author's Note:**

> Only posting chapter 1 tonight. Chapter 2 and 3 will be up tomorrow.


End file.
